a1958: Lawyers of Dubious Distinction Protest Judicial Corruption in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: kevin pina <kpinbox@hotmail.com>


Lawyers desert courts in protest over alleged corrupt judicial system
Tue May 7,12:44 PM ET
By MICHAEL NORTON, Associated Press Writer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Court proceedings across Haiti came to a halt
Tuesday after lawyers held a one-day strike over what they say is a corrupt
and ineffective judicial system.


"If you are a lawyer, you are prevented from practicing your profession
according to the norms," said lawyer Rigaud Duplan, president of the
500-member Port-au-Prince Bar Association and one of hundreds who left
judges and clients in the lurch Tuesday.

The protest came after investigating Judge Henri Kesner Noel fled Haiti. He
said he feared for his life after Haitian authorities pressured him to sign
an arrest warrant for former military dictator Prosper Avril, who was
arrested minutes after being released from prison on April 15.

"After innumerable violations of legal procedure and due process, the Noel
affair was the last straw," said lawyer Rene Julien who said most of the
courts in major Haitian towns were empty.

Lawyers, whose cases were postponed until Wednesday, blame the government
for interfering in judicial matters, accuse prosecutors of not executing
judges' orders and complain there is no due process.

Despite a constitutional requirement that a person hear the charges against
him within 48 hours of his detention, people are often detained for months
in Haiti without ever being charged.

Although the lawyers made no specific demands, they said they would consider
another strike if conditions didn't improve.

"We recognize the judicial system has many problems, and we're doing what we
can to solve them," said Privat Precil, director-general of the justice
ministry, in an interview Tuesday.

Noel, an investigating judge in the westcoast port of St. Marc, said he had
been summoned to the Port-au-Prince office of National Security on April 15
and forced to sign Avril's warrant, which he had not drafted. On April 26,
Noel and his family flew to Miami.

The government denied putting political pressure on judges.

On April 11, the Port-au-Prince Appeals Court ordered Avril's immediate
release, saying his arrest last year for plotting to overthrow the
government was illegal.

Four days later, Avril was in prison again, charged with complicity in the
1990 murder of about a dozen peasants killed by soldiers in the westcoast
settlement Piate, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the capital.
Piate is located in the St. Marc jurisdiction.

Avril seized power in September 1988, but a popular uprising forced him to
resign three days before the massacre took place on March 13, 1990.

He went into exile in the United States on March 12, 1990.

Human rights activists have blamed the former dictator for rights violations
during his rule, but also denounced the government for keeping him in prison
illegally.

In January, investigating Judge Claudy Gassant also fled Haiti, saying he
feared for his life. He had been investigating the April 2000 assassination
of Haiti's most prominent journalist Jean Dominique.

"The constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, it is not
independent in practice and is subject to significant influence by the
executive and legislative branches," stated this year's U.S. State
Department report on human rights.

"Years of extensive corruption and governmental neglect have left the
judicial system poorly organized and nearly moribund."

A 20-member team from the Organization of American States is set to begin a
mission to provide Haiti with technical assistance in security, justice,
human rights, and governance.


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